We had a white Christmas for the first time in 7 years, we had family in town for New Years, and it is currently -2 degrees out and we are hunkering down being as cozy as possible. (Other than the fact that my oldest two have theatre camp this week and I’m sorta regretting the fact that I will have to leave the house twice a day for the next 3 days, but they love it.)
It’s been quiet around here and will likely be quiet for another week or so. I would love to say I’ve got big plans for this blog in 2018, but it’s more like I’ve got plans to have big plans. Goal setting is a slow process for me. It’s not something I do on a consistent basis partly because it takes me so long to really figure out what I want. So I think my first goal should be to take me time and really figure out where I want to direct my energy this year as far as the blog is concerned. (I recently read Essentialism and it has really spoken to me. I highly recommend it.)
As 2017 ends and 2018 begins I wanted to take a few minutes and talk about this past year and what it’s meant to me and how it’s affected me.
2017 was a strange year, at times feeling like an out of body experience as I watched helplessly from afar (my computer screen) as tragedy after tragedy unfolded, knowing there was little I could do to help. For the most part, my family and I are doing well, but I have never experienced a year where my heart hurt so deeply and so frequently for my fellow human beings. And for me, this year of sorrow started with the election.
I never wrote about how devastating the election was for me last year, but it was devastating. I have never felt a political loss like that. My heart ached and my stomach hurt and I found myself crying and feeling drained of hope. I was raw and angry. On my personal FB page I became a viper striking back at every comment and defense of Trump–especially those defending Trump’s disability imitations–it just became too much. I had always planned to write a post on my blog, but I talked about it so much in real life, that when it came time to write about it couldn’t. I was drained.
So here are my short, unfiltered thoughts about the election, Trump and current events from this past year.
First, I have NO DESIRE to debate my feelings regarding the man who is our President. I understand some people are very pleased with the job he is doing. I am not one of those people. I am appalled weekly at his shameless lies and lack of basic, human decency. This has and will never be about party politics for me. As an independent I have voted Republican and Democrat almost equally in my life. I have respect and appreciation for the best virtues of both political parties, and I have criticisms for each party’s shortcomings as well. I am not against Republicans, but I am and will always be against base ugliness masquerading as leadership, blatant and frequent lying, a president who attacks core values of our democracy like freedom of the press, the election of a serial sexual abuser, and a leader who divides instead of unifies. I will never be OK with the fact Donald Trump was voted into office. Therefore, January 2017, when he was sworn into office, started things off on a pretty tough note for me.
There were two shining beacons of hope in January however, that definitely helped ease the blow. The first was my 40th birthday. It was the birthday to end all birthdays as my husband flew three of my best friends out to surprise me for the weekend and we had an amazing time. He also made a book for me that people contributed to from all different era’s (if you will) of my life and it is a treasure. That weekend might go down as the time I felt the most loved in my life. It was a mic drop birthday.
The other bright spot was the Women’s March. I went with my oldest daughter and it is a fantastic memory and I’m proud to have marched side by side with my girl. It was also the first march I ever been a part of! I was a little nervous–especially bringing my daughter–but it was amazing. It was peaceful, powerful, and unifying. I’m so glad we participated.
Exhale. While I didn’t address any of those issues in detail, it felt good to get a little of that off my chest here. As I said, I’m not writing this to debate, rather I just want to make my stance known on these issues.
But as I said, 2017 was a good year for us personally and for my little blog. Here are some of the highlights from this past year.
As already stated, my 40th Birthday Surprise. A weekend for the books.
A last minute visit to my grandma last January that was both memorable and cathartic.
A feature on Design*Sponge. (Feature here.)
Disney Cruise with some of our besties.
Probably my favorite post I wrote this year.
My husband’s and my first trip to Paris!
A trip to Hogwarts with my oldest.
An epic Moana Halloween Costume.
Bought our dream house! (that is taking a l.o.n.g. time to complete. Sigh.)
Hosted (and almost ready for the reveal!) an amazing giveaway with Alaska Airlines!
And of course a lot of fantastic special needs spotlights, which are always at the heart of this little blog. It’s also the series that made a disability advocate out of me. And for that, I’ll always be grateful.
I have got some excited things planned for the year ahead–I know I just said I don’t have “big plans” but I’ve had some things in the works for a while and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. Thanks for sticking around and supporting this little blog for all these years.
XO,
Miggy
Well said.
You seem like such a top-notch human being and I’d like to know you in real life.
Well thanks. I have my shortcomings, but I try. And I wish I could know so many of my readers in real life. That would be a pretty great party.
I'm bummed I hadn't started following you until 2017 – cheers to you Miggy!
Amen to all of your political sentiments. 2017 was a rough year.